PRIVATE SECTOR

PRIVATE SECTOR; Just One Maniac Per Point

By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN

Published: March 21, 1999

When 10,000 Maniacs played its first show in September 1981, the Dow Jones industrial average was in the 800's. . Before a concert in Ithaca last week, just a day after the Dow first inched over 10,000, the band talked about what its members called ''the other 10,000.''

''Thank God, after 18 years, we finally understand what the Dow is,'' laughed Dennis Drew, the group's keyboard player. ''My dad handles all of my investments.''

Group members said their popularity and record sales fluctuate with the stock market. No word, though, on whether they will change their name to 11,000 Maniacs to stay ahead of the Dow. ANDREW ROSS SORKIN